Taking a break from the CNR Depot scratch build and thought I'd work on a kit. Love Bar Mills kits for a relatively easy build and yet a very nice finished model. I have three or four on the shelf, along with two FSM kits. I chose Four Fingered Tony's after doing a search here and not finding a build thread. It's a unique building and I like the tongue-in-cheek name. Art has a great sense of humor; Mortimer Stiph's Casket and Tombstones.
Anyway, I'll start with the box and it's contents and take it from there.
A little more build time on Tony's today. Have all the wood parts braced and primed and have most of the 'skeleton' done on the butcher shop. Next I'll sand and stain the wood floors in the storage area, paint the interior walls of the whole building and install the checkered flooring in the butcher shop. Finally the windows, lights and display cases. Whew, I think I need a nap. ;)
Hi Bob:
Looks like your are off to a good start. It's a neat kit. I built the prototype for the long building and Artie added the red building.
Karl
Thank you for the compliment Karl. And thank you for for your contribution to this kit. This is the second time I've built Tony's. First time was for a fellow model railroader. I did not know you and Art were acquainted. Must be real enjoyable to work so closely with someone that shares your passion. Did you work on the American Seltzer Co. also?
Bob
Got the airbrush fired up tonight and painted the two structures. The meat market is done in Floquil Depot Buff and the Processing building is Floquil Boxcar Red. I put Northeastern scribed flooring in both buildings. Stained the shoppe's floor with Minwax Cherry and the processing floor was Minwax Golden Oak. Going to let both buildings dry overnight before I handle them. This would be a good time to start working on the castings metal. Some real nice detail castings with this kit; fruit and vegetable displays, Coke machine with a wooden case of Coke bottles, two-wheel cart, boxes, etc. I'll take some pics after I get them cleaned before priming.
Bob,
The build is really coming together. Glad to see the Minwax colours used, it adds so much depth.
Marty
I really like MinWax's product line and the wood kits take the stains beautifully. I'm a die hard Minwax fan.
A few more progress pictures on Tony's today. Interior walls in the processing building building have been painted with Model Expo's English Oak acrylic. Nice compliment to the flooring. The walls of the meat marked were done with Testor's light yellow. I laid a piece of flex track behind the structures and put a refrigerated rail car on track just to get an idea of how the diorama will look. On to the pictures.
Bob
Worked on Tony's today. Been soaking the castings for a couple of days now. Took them out of the 'bath' and dried them on a paper towel. Will get to work cleaning up the flash and mold marks with files and xacto blades later on tonight. Also, thought the back walls of the meat market building looked a little drab, so I bound some wood paneling on the net and copied them to a Word file, resized them, printed them off and cut to fit the space . They were glued with good old Elmer's White Glue brushed on the back. Dresses up the walls a bit, I think. Think I'll do the same thing in the Butcher Shoppe. Not too happy with the finish of the Testors #1112 Light Yellow. It read enamel on the label, but went on like old acrylic. Dried almost too quick. Brush drug across the surface and did not leave a nice finish. I'll let it dry a couple of days and wallpaper the joint. Also primed the windows and got them ready to paint. I want to steel wool both buildings and start the weathering process on them. Found some signs on this site and will put a couple on the big wall spaces.
Got the kit supplied checkered floor installed. I sanded the back of the cut out (it was a little thick). Applied Elmer's White Glue to the back and pushed in place. Looks pretty good IMHO. Also cut the roof to fit with the butcher shoppe up against the processing house. And added a loading dock to the back of the build for unloading reefers of meat from FSM Butcher's Way kit (to yet be built). The loading dock was scratch built from 1/32" scrap wood, scored with an xacto #11 blade and the nail holes were put in the ends of the "boards" with a home-build punch. The punch is a 3/16" (5 mm) dowel with a couple of straight pins epoxied into holes drilled with a #70 (.028) drill bit in a pin vice. Next I ran a very fine xacto saw blade over the wood to give it some grain. Next came some A/I and finally some weathering powders. Also used some #0000 steel wool and an ink eraser over the buildings to weather them a bit. Also added some A/I wash over both buildings. Haven't added the weathering powders because these structures will be handled a lot before finishing.
Bob, great job on the floor.
Marty
Thanks, Marty. After following your Campbells Grandma's House build thread, Four Fingered Tony's seems like a cake walk. Kudos to you for overcoming all the trials and tribulations in your build to finish with a great looking building. And the lighting is terrific.
Started to add the doors and windows to Tonys this afternoon. Not much gluing area on the acetate windows if you cut the tabs holding the windows to the acetate sheets. So I took a pair of scissors and cut around the windows leaving about 1/16" around each window. That way I have a little extra gluing area. Also added shades to two sets of the closed doors, then for the doors that will be open, I rolled some masking tape around a #70 drill bit to give the impression of a rolled up shade.
Bob
Been adding some details to the Tony's build. Waiting until I get the interior lighting before I start adding the roofing. Might be a good time to add a few signs to the outside.
Bob, a nice crisp build.
Marty
Quote from: martin.ojaste on March 10, 2015, 07:42:34 PM
Bob, a nice crisp build.
Marty
Thank you Marty. Always nice to hear from you.
Quote from: UP Fan on February 17, 2015, 07:59:34 PM
Worked on Tony's today. Been soaking the castings for a couple of days now. Took them out of the 'bath' and dried them on a paper towel. Will get to work cleaning up the flash and mold marks with files and xacto blades later on tonight. Also, thought the back walls of the meat market building looked a little drab, so I bound some wood paneling on the net and copied them to a Word file, resized them, printed them off and cut to fit the space . They were glued with good old Elmer's White Glue brushed on the back. Dresses up the walls a bit, I think. Think I'll do the same thing in the Butcher Shoppe. Not too happy with the finish of the Testors #1112 Light Yellow. It read enamel on the label, but went on like old acrylic. Dried almost too quick. Brush drug across the surface and did not leave a nice finish. I'll let it dry a couple of days and wallpaper the joint. Also primed the windows and got them ready to paint. I want to steel wool both buildings and start the weathering process on them. Found some signs on this site and will put a couple on the big wall spaces.
Bob you mention "bath" for the metal details. Can you please elaborate as to what you use or point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Donato
Quote from: donatode on March 11, 2015, 09:30:22 PM
Quote from: UP Fan on February 17, 2015, 07:59:34 PM
Worked on Tony's today. Been soaking the castings for a couple of days now. Took them out of the 'bath' and dried them on a paper towel. Will get to work cleaning up the flash and mold marks with files and xacto blades later on tonight. Also, thought the back walls of the meat market building looked a little drab, so I bound some wood paneling on the net and copied them to a Word file, resized them, printed them off and cut to fit the space . They were glued with good old Elmer's White Glue brushed on the back. Dresses up the walls a bit, I think. Think I'll do the same thing in the Butcher Shoppe. Not too happy with the finish of the Testors #1112 Light Yellow. It read enamel on the label, but went on like old acrylic. Dried almost too quick. Brush drug across the surface and did not leave a nice finish. I'll let it dry a couple of days and wallpaper the joint. Also primed the windows and got them ready to paint. I want to steel wool both buildings and start the weathering process on them. Found some signs on this site and will put a couple on the big wall spaces.
Bob you mention "bath" for the metal details. Can you please elaborate as to what you use or point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Donato
Nothing special, Donato. By 'bath' I meant soaking the pieces in 99% alcohol solution to get rid of the mold releasing solution and the oils from my fingers.
Thanks Bob.
Donato
Added a few more details to the diorama; meat cooler in butcher shop, some signs in and around, put hand holds on the telephone pole, back stairs, back doors, etc. Geez, these details take almost as long as the build. :P
Looking good and even better with the signs of life and details. Have you found the "fifth finger" yet?
Marty
Marty, don't tell anyone, I think it's in Ms. Crabtree's meatloaf. Oh-my.
I have seen where the military modelers have soaked white metal castings in white vinegar and then washed with soap and water- the idea being that the vinegar produces a slight etching in the surface to aid in painting. I havn't tried it yet but I think I will to see if its a good technique. I will say that I really like the Vallejo paints for castings and figures. You can get nice sets on Amazon- (I started with the "Allied Forces" color set). The paint is really nice and you can squeeze just a drop or two out at a time from the bottle.
I keep a bottle with vinegar and dishwasher soap, figuring to do both etch and clean. I put the castings in there for 20 minutes or so, the rinse thoroughly.
dave
Thanks Dave and rpdylan for the vinegar tip. A little etching on the casting would definitely give it some 'tooth' for painting later on. Do you still prime the castings prior to paint or not?
Priming is always better, particularly for acrylics. My favorite primer is (was) the Floquil spray light gray figure primer, it has a very fine grain to it. I have a couple cans that I'm reserving for (HO scale) figures.
dave
I really like the Krylon Camo paint. It sprays nicely and with a very fine grain. It provides a nice surface for the paint to adhere to also. The Khaki color is my favorite for casting primer- give it a shot, I think you will like it.
Bob C.
Thanks, Bob. I'll definitely give the Krylon a try.
That is looking awesome Bob, I think I will pick up that kit at the Expo. I just hope I can get to look as nice as yours.
Sam
Thank you Sam. appreciate the compliments Have fun at Expo, sounds like a great show. Definitely get a Bar Mills kit or two at the show and have fun. I really like their kits.
Quote from: deemery on March 14, 2015, 01:36:47 PM
Priming is always better, particularly for acrylics. My favorite primer is (was) the Floquil spray light gray figure primer, it has a very fine grain to it. I have a couple cans that I'm reserving for (HO scale) figures.
dave
Hold on to that Floquil primer. It will be worth it's weight in gold someday. I've been using Tamiya Fine Surface primer. Very fine pigments and it really gets into the nooks and crannys.
Well, Tony finally paid his utility bill and the lights have been turned on. It's always a milestone when the lighting is added to a structure. The first picture shows the adhesive-backed copper foil I used instead of wire. The strip wood next to the package of foil has copper foil mounted on both sides. The next picture shows the lights and the lead wires soldered to the foil and notches have been cut into the interior walls to mount the light strip. After that, some pictures showing the lighting. It's on the layout but not in it's permanent home just yet.
And a few more.
Bob,
I like your idea of the copper tape lighting the structure. With a bit of paint the wiring is make near invisible.
So true, Martin, once the foil is painted, it becomes almost part of the structure.
Hi Bob B.:
Looking great sofar.
Karl
Had a little time to work on Tony's adding a few more people and details. The first pic is the flashing installed on the roof. Made it from manila folder cut to size and painted silver. Will add some grimy black and white glue mixture to simulate the tar to seal the flashing. In the 2nd picture one of the fork lift operators got distracted and ran into the side of the building running a load up the new ramp. And just after Tony had a scrape shield installed above the ramp. In the 3rd picture, Tony is giving the errant fork lift operator what for. >:( The last pic, Mrs. Tony is talking with a customer about the new meat display case.